Wheel assemblies that utilize wheel appliques to decorate the external or outboard surfaces of plain steel wheels are well known and are far less expensive to produce than one-piece decorative wheels that have to be formed and finished.
Wheel appliqués can be secured to wheels by various mechanical engaging structures and/or by adhesives. U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,845 to Maloney et al. discloses a vehicle wheel cover retention system in which the annular lip of the wheel cover is configured to spring outwardly into a groove provided in the inner surface of the wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,423 to Heck et al. discloses a vehicle wheel cover retention system in which the outer end of the wheel cover is deformed to cover the outer peripheral end of the outboard bead seat retaining flange of the wheel. Both U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,845 to Maloney et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,423 to Heck et al. utilize an adhesive in cooperation with their respective mechanical engaging structures.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,577,809 and 5,636,906 to Chase disclose wheel assemblies having wheel covers which are secured to wheels by means of a plurality of fasteners. The wheel covers include bosses which protrude from the inboard side of the wheel covers. The bosses are engaged in recesses formed in outboard surface of the wheel and the fasteners are inserted into the bosses to secure the wheel covers to the wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,288 to Hodge et al. is somewhat similar in concept to the Chase patents above in that Hodge et al. teaches a wheel assembly in which the wheel cover is attached directly to the wheel by threaded members that are received in mounting apertures formed in the central hub portion of the wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,582 to Ching teaches a wheel assembly in which a wheel cover is attached to a wheel by means of an intermediate pair of brackets and fastener members.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,531 to Hogan et al. discloses a decorative wheel cover that is secured to a wheel by a plurality of protrusions that are received in corresponding depressions or slots in a wheel.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0153763 to Van Houten et al. teaches a wheel assembly that includes a cladding that is secured to a central portion of a wheel by a snap tab that includes a protuberance which is biased into an indent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,538 to Ferriss et al. teaches a wheel assembly that includes a wheel cover that is secured to an outer peripheral edge of a wheel by a rim clasp and is secured to an inner portion of the wheel by a protrusion with or without a spring element to bias the protrusion into a channel formed in the wheel.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0067212 to Wrase et al. discloses a wheel assembly that includes a wheel cover that is attached to an underlying wheel by snap tabs which are received in a recess provided in a wall of an annular recess of the wheel.
European style wheel assemblies, also called flangeless wheels, typically have a design which does not incorporate an outboard balance weight flange. Accordingly, such wheel assembly styles do not allow for mechanical fastening of the wheel appliques or covers over the periphery of the wheel.
A wheel assembly designed with a secure mechanical means of attaching a wheel applique or cover at the central portion of the underlying wheel would be welcome in the art.